TO DEVELOP GREAT TEACHING? #SNEsummit15 What will it take…

What will it take…to develop great teaching? Robert Coe SCHOOLS NorthEast Summit 2015

∂ My argument …  If you make decisions about education, you should be informed by a sound understanding of research  If you want to promote great teaching you need to understand what great teaching is  Developing both kinds of understanding requires substantial professional learning 3

∂ 4 eef toolkit improving education What makes great teaching Developing great teaching

Should people who make ‘policy’ understand research? 5 Any generalised advice or constraint (incl at school level)

∂ True or false? 1.Reducing class size is one of the most effective ways to increase learning [evidence] [evidence] 2.Learning is optimised by differentiating and personalising resources [evidence] [evidence] 3.Generous praise helps learners persist with hard tasks [evidence] [evidence] 4.Technology supports learning by engaging and motivating learners [evidence] [evidence] 5.Enhancing motivation and interest leads to significantly improved attainment [evidence] [evidence] 6

∂ Knowledge of research A.A one-to-one numeracy intervention (two 15-minute sessions per week, delivered by teaching assistants) for Year 2-6 pupils who are struggling with numeracy (outcome: maths) B.Nine weekly one-hour sessions where Y7 pupils below L4 read and discuss an age-appropriate book, with tools and resources to encourage reading for pleasure (outcome: reading) C.A four-week summer school programme (between Y6 & 7) for pupils who had been predicted to achieve KS2 below Level 4b in English, focussed on poetry and writing (outcome: writing). D.Y6 & 7 teachers trained to deliver a programme to help low attaining pupils plan, monitor and evaluate their writing using memorable experiences, eg trips and visitors (outcome: writing). 7 Put these in order of effectiveness:

∂ Efficient marking? 1.“Tick and flick” – tick and a brief, general comment 2.Detailed, right-wrong by question 3.Detailed, close marking 4.Two stars and a wish – specific, constructive comments 5.Positive comments only 6.Make only comments that require specific action – and follow up 8 Time consuming High impact on learning Quick Low impact on learning

∂ Impact vs cost Cost per pupil Effect Size (months gain) £0 0 8 £1000 Meta-cognitive Peer tutoring Early Years 1-1 tuition Homework (Secondary) After school Teaching assistants Mentoring Summer schools Aspirations Performance pay Smaller classes Ability grouping Most promising for raising attainment May be worth it Small effects / high cost Feedback Phonics Homework (Primary) Collaborative Small gp tuition Parental involvement Individualised learning ICT Behaviour Social Repeating a year Mastery Reading comprn

∂ Clear, simple advice:  Choose from the top left  Go back to school and do it 10 For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong H.L. Mencken

∂ Why not?  Research evidence is problematic –complex, equivocal, artificial, incomplete, inapplicable...  Most things that work are complex and subtle –Not just compliance, but understanding and skill  Changing teachers’ practice is very hard –Especially in ways that are faithful, effective and sustainable, at scale 11

∂ Making assessment work The need for understanding and skill  Criteria cannot define a standard  Criteria often trivialise learning aims  Formative ‘hinge questions’ are equivocal  Judging performance requires standardisation  Teacher assessment is biased/stereotyped  Accountability drives improvement but is often dysfunctional 12

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∂ Poor Proxies for Learning  Students are busy: lots of work is done (especially written work)  Students are engaged, interested, motivated  Students are getting attention: feedback, explanations  Classroom is ordered, calm, under control  Curriculum has been ‘covered’ (ie presented to students in some form)  (At least some) students have supplied correct answers, even if they –Have not really understood them –Could not reproduce them independently –Will have forgotten it by next week (tomorrow?) –Already knew how to do this anyway 14

∂ Learning happens when people have to think hard A better proxy for learning?

∂ Understanding research  Explain why children in small classes typically learn only slightly more than they would in big classes  In what ways does understanding depend on knowledge? In what ways does knowledge depend on understanding?  When does praise support learning?  Explain why grouping learners by ‘ability’ (setting, streaming, or in-class grouping) does not seem to make much difference to how much they learn?  What determines whether learners remember things? 16

∂ Applying research  What can teachers do to increase the amount of time students spend thinking hard about the material we want them to learn?  How can teachers make it most likely that students will remember what they have taught?  What kinds of marking convey effective feedback?  How can teachers give effective feedback to classes of 30 (without killing themselves)? 17

Do we know what ‘great teaching’ is? 18

∂ Do we know a good lesson when we see one? 19

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∂ Dimensions of great teaching 1.(Pedagogical) content knowledge (PCK) 2.Quality of instruction 3.Classroom management / behaviour / control 4.Classroom climate / relationships / expectations 5.Beliefs (theory) about subject, learning & teaching 6.Wider professional elements: collegiality, PD, stakeholder relationships 21

∂ 1. We do that already (don’t we?)  Reviewing previous learning  Setting high expectations  Using higher-order questions  Giving feedback to learners  Having deep subject knowledge  Understanding student misconceptions  Managing time and resources  Building relationships of trust and challenge  Dealing with disruption 22

∂ 2. Do we always do that?  Challenging students to identify the reason why an activity is taking place in the lesson  Asking a large number of questions and checking the responses of all students  Raising different types of questions (i.e., process and product) at appropriate difficulty level  Giving time for students to respond to questions  Spacing-out study or practice on a given topic, with gaps in between for forgetting  Making students take tests or generate answers, even before they have been taught the material  Engaging students in weekly and monthly review 23

∂ 3. We don’t do that (hopefully)  Use praise lavishly  Allow learners to discover key ideas for themselves  Group learners by ability  Encourage re-reading and highlighting to memorise key ideas  Address issues of confidence and low aspirations before you try to teach content  Present information to learners in their preferred learning style  Ensure learners are always active, rather than listening passively, if you want them to remember 24

What will it take…to develop great teaching?

∂ Improving Teaching  Teacher quality is what matters  We need to focus on teacher learning  Teachers learn just like other people –Be clear what you want them to learn –Get good information about where they are at –Provide appropriate instruction and give good feedback 26

∂ Why monitor teaching quality?  Good evidence of (potential) benefit from –Performance feedback (Coe, 2002) –Target setting (Locke & Latham, 2006) –Accountability (Coe & Sahlgren, 2014)  Individual teachers matter most  Teachers typically stop improving after 3-5 years  Everyone can improve  Assessment is an essential part of learning (including teacher learning) 27

∂ How to monitor teaching quality? 1.High-quality assessment –Not levels (generalised descriptors/criteria) –Convergent with learning goals & other evidence –Check for bias & confounds 2.Lesson observation –Be very cautious! (no grades or consequences) –Based on ‘Great Teaching’ evidence –Trust teachers with consistently good outcomes 3.Student feedback –Use validated instruments 28

∂ 29 Cordingley et al

∂ In your CPD have you … 1.Tried to learn to do something that is relevant and supported by research evidence? 2.Focused on (and evaluated success against) students’ learning outcomes? 3.Engaged in activity that a)Surfaced, challenged and developed your thinking about learning and teaching b)Modelled/demonstrated new approaches c)Allowed experimentation to adapt/apply approaches to your classroom d)Included observation and feedback? e)Took place at least fortnightly over two terms? 4.Drawn on explicit support from a)External experts b)Peer networks c)Coaches / mentors d)School/college leaders 30 Yes No

∂ professional-development-standard-call-for-evidence 31

∂ 1.Understand research evidence 2.Promote evidence-based pedagogy 3.Support teacher learning 1.Understand research evidence 2.Promote evidence-based pedagogy 3.Support teacher learning And that is all there is to it …